ToK Prescribed Titles (2010) Question 7

“We see and understand things not as they are but as we are.” Discuss this claim in relation to at least two ways of knowing.


The essence of the Q: concentrate on the words 'see' and 'understand': which WoK do they correspond to? The quotation appears to distinguish between the world 'out there' or 'things' and human minds or 'we'. What are the problems for knowledge that are generated by this distinction? Is it a valid distinction? The implication is that there is no knowledge of reality or truth without human minds; that knowledge comes from an interaction between human minds and the world. If I see and understand the world as I am and you see and understand it as you are, do we see it as the same? Again, you must address the issue of 'subjective' and 'objective' belief and the limitations involved. Think about whether this claim holds true across different cultural/international boundaries.

Knowledge Issues: How far is it true to say that the human mind shapes the world according to its knowledge needs? To what extent do we experience the same reality? In what way do our cultural beliefs limit or enhance the way we 'see' and 'understand' ourselves and our world?

Aproaches: Scientists apparently see the same reality - they experiment on it to produce data to prove/disprove their theories about the world. Also their need to understand the world creates technological breakthroughs that help to shape that world differently - think of examples. The past is a fixed reality, isn't it? The things that have happened are a constant, so to speak. Then how is it that historians 'see' and 'understand' those events differently? We all perceive ethical problems differently and deal with them differently, jus as we agree or disagree about what makes a work of art good. Is this because of the way 'we are' or because of the nature of the ethical issue or art work itself? If you believe, as Pythagoras did, that the real world is ruled by numbers, that mathematical relationships between these numbers determine events and our very own behaviour, then surely we have to reverse the claim: what we see and understand is limited by the world outside - the very 'things' that we see shape our understanding...